Brian the Bounty Hunter
by The Lori C
Summary: Join Brian and his group of fellow bounty hunters Jeff, Paul, Britty and Anne as they catch bad guys who skipped bond!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Upon first sight, no one would have taken them for aggressive yet compassionate bounty hunters.

There was Jeff, the multicolored-haired, fun loving guy who was the brains behind his own bail agency, Rainbow Bonds, Paul, the ambitious, organized and comic relief man, Britty, the sweet-faced baby of the group who was just as aggressive as the others to get their man (or woman) on the run.

And Brian, the leader of the bounty hunting pack.

Short, blond and well under 200 pounds, bounty hunter would have been the last vocation anyone would have guessed for him. But his tough exterior more than made up for his slight appearance, and his compassionate side made even the most hardened fugitive feel comfortable.

There was also his sidekick and girl, Anne, a plus sized, quick-witted, and highly intelligent woman whose innocent appearance belied the fact that she was just as fast on her feet as the rest of them. The pretty brunette also practically ran the office.

In addition to Jeff's, they also worked for other bond agencies whose clients had skipped out. They were usually called on the most even with the competition with other bounty hunters. Their success rate was almost perfect, being they rarely gave up on finding their prey and bringing them in. Aside from Brian's occasionally controversial behavior, they were among the most respected people in their field of work.

_Tuesday morning:_

"Who do we have today?" Brian asked when they had all assembled in the office.

"You'll like this one," Jeff answered. "Dwayne Brown. Grand theft auto, bond was $50,000."

"Got a description?"

"Six two, two sixty, dark brown hair, one blue eye, one brown. Shouldn't be too difficult to spot."

"Two different eyes, I would reckon not," Anne spoke up. "I always did like a challenge."

"He also has a record as long as my arm," Paul added, staring at a laptop screen. "Burglary, breaking and entering, disorderly conduct, possession of controlled substance, ADW, need I go on?"

"Definitely worth the challenge," Brian replied. "Any known locations?"

"His mom was the co-signer on his bond," Britty said. "We could start there."

"There's also a girlfriend in that same general area," Anne cut in. "Kathy Shear. Let's have a talk with her too. Either Dwayne is hiding out there or she may know where he is."

"Good start," Brian nodded. "All right, let's rock this thing. We have fifty grand on the line for this one and whatever it takes, let's get Dwayne Brown hauled in by at least the end of the day."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Noon, Tuesday:_

"Did we get any leads?" Brian asked the crew after they had gone on the search for Dwayne Brown's last known locations most of the morning.

"Anne and I talked to Kathy," Britty volunteered. "She saw him about two days ago, but she's willing to get in touch with us if he comes around again."

"Even if the five hundred dollar incentive didn't entice her," Anne added, "we can add another spot to his record. He's about a year behind in child support to Kathy."

Brian nodded. "Both would be enough to get her to work with us. Good work, ladies."

"I also had a couple of cooperative neighbors at his last address," Paul replied. "One told me he'd seen Brown carrying loads of stuff out to his truck the night before he disappeared. This was verified with the manager. She said Brown left no forwarding address, gave no notice and didn't even contact their office for his security deposit back."

"Someone was in a hurry," Brian agreed. "Someone with a very good reason why they didn't want to be found."

Brian's phone then rang. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Hey, Bri," Jeff said. "I just wanted to give you a heads up that Brown's mother just got in touch with me. She's pretty panicked and trying to get Dwayne to turn himself in."

"He's been in touch with her?" Brian was incredulous.

"Yeah. And we better get this guy by the end of the day like we planned or Mom's going to lose her house. She put it up as collateral for his bond."

"Oh God," Brian sighed. "Now I definitely want this scumbag. What pisses me off even more than someone skipping out is someone skipping out _and _putting their parents' collateral on the line. Have Mrs. Brown get in touch with me if Dwayne contacts her again."

"Will do, boss," Jeff answered before he hung up.

"We really need to get on this, gang," Brian informed the others. "That was Jeff."

He then relayed to them what Jeff had told him just before Paul took a phone call of his own.

Anne sighed. "This is one reason I don't like the idea of parents being co-signers," she said.

"I know, sugar; I don't like it either, but even if this guy is a piece of shit, he's still this lady's son. And it's up to us to catch him at any cost within reason."

"We may have our first chance," Paul said, snapping his phone shut. "That was Kathy. Apparently our fugitive is on his way over there to give her some money."

Brian grinned. "I think our day may have gotten better."

_Later:_

"This is the building coming up," Britty pointed out over the radio. "You'll want to stop there, guys."

"All right, I need you and Anne to scope out the front," Brian responded. "What's the apartment number?"

"Seven," Anne replied.

"Okay, I'm taking the back; Jeff and Paul will have each side and I need you ladies to stay out front. But park in a place where no one can see you. I don't need Brown spotting anyone when he pulls up."

After everyone had gotten into place and were basically out of sight, the waiting game began. When a long period had gone by, Brian radioed to Paul, "What time did Kathy say our guy was supposed to show up?"

"About twenty minutes ago. Think he may have been tipped off?"

"If that is the case, we need to find out who was responsible."

"Bri," Anne came over the radio. "I think Brown just pulled up."

"Okay, all of you in position. Wait until he gets toward Kathy's unit. He'll be closest to Jeff from what I'm seeing."

"I have him in my sight," Jeff announced.

"He's headed your way now," Anne said.

"Let's get ourselves a fugitive," Brian said. "You know the drill, Rainbow."

_A short time later:_

"Dudes," Dwayne Brown said as he sat handcuffed and strapped in between Anne and Britty. "Not only can't I believe I got caught by a guy like blondie up there, but I got tackled by this chick too." He nodded toward Britty, who grinned proudly.

"Yeah, don't let hers and Brian's sizes fool you," Anne warned him. "They always get the take down."

"Indeed," Paul added. "Britt learned from the best."

"Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, Paul," Brian spoke up. "Dwayne, you may not think so now, but today is perhaps the first day of turning your life around. Drugs are bad, my friend; they make you do stupid things like stealing cars, assaults, breaking and entering, and yes, missing your court date."

"Your mom almost lost her house today because of you being on the run," Anne added gently. She then dialed a number. "You may talk to her if you like."

He nodded while Anne waited for an answer from the other end.

"Mrs. Brown? It's Anne. We have Dwayne in custody. We're on our way to taking him to be booked right now. He'd like to talk to you."

"Ma?" Dwayne asked when Anne put up the phone to him. "I'm just sorry….yes, ma'am, I'll listen to what they tell me…yeah, we're headed to the jail. Will you help Kathy look after the kids? I'll talk to you soon, Ma."

They pulled up to the front of the building where Dwayne would be booked. "How about a cigarette before you go in?" Brian offered.

"Thanks, man, I'd like that."

"Straight up, brother, you have to get your act together not only for your mom, but for your kids," Brian advised while he lit the cigarette for Dwayne. "If you're willing to clean up, I can put in a good word for you. The thing is, _you _have to be ready."

Dwayne nodded sadly. "I am ready. I've fallen as far as I can go, man."

"And the only way now to go is up," Brian replied.

When their caught fugitive finished his cigarette, Jeff accompanied him to the prisoner entrance, announcing himself. "Jeff from Rainbow Bonds. We have Dwayne Brown."

They were soon buzzed in where Dwayne's cuffs were removed and he'd shaken Jeff's hand.

"Thank you, man," he said. "I hope I can see you again someday under better circumstances."

"Good luck, Dwayne," Jeff said. "I also hope the next time I see you that you will be successful in turning around. I have confidence that you will, though. Call us if you need anything. We're here to support you."

With Dwayne now being processed, the group left the jail to head back to the office. It was time for their next capture.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Thursday, mid-morning:_

"Are you kidding me?" Anne asked, laughing. "They want _Brian _to come speak at a school?"

"Yeah, just when I thought I knew someone," Britty nodded. "I never thought the boss was a paternal type."

"Dude likes kids," Jeff spoke up, "he just doesn't get to be around them that often."

"Good point; there isn't many nine and ten year olds that are fugitives," Paul chuckled. "This should be a blast."

"I can't think of one nine year old we have as a fugitive presently," Jeff added. "I think once they see Brian they may think twice about being one in the future, though.

"They'll adore him nevertheless," Britty smiled. "We never had cool people come and speak at an assembly when I was in school."

"Same here," Anne replied. "I think the closest we came back in my day to what Brian does is some state trooper coming to talk about drugs. I do remember half my class either slept through, weren't paying attention the whole time, or managed to sneak off to the bathrooms for a cigarette–or worse.."

"Your class must have been a bunch of hippies," Paul cracked.

"Thank you for reminding me that I'm old," Anne replied, blowing a raspberry.

"Nice to see you all hardly working as usual," Brian said, smiling, when he came in the office. "Any new interesting cases to prepare for before we leave for the school assembly?"

Jeff held up a file. "Boss, you are going to love this one."

"I usually do," Brian grinned.

"Yeah, but this one is a bounty of $250,000."

"_Quarter million bond?" _Anne's eyes widened.

"Oooh, can I tackle him again?" Britty asked, clearly excited.

"Perhaps," Jeff said, "only this is a her."

Brian's interest was now piqued. "What's the charge?"

"Nicole Woods," Jeff replied. "Robbery and attempted murder."

"We have a description?"

"Date of birth, July 6, 1979. Five seven, one ten, blonde and green."

"Priors are possession of drug paraphernalia and wire fraud," Paul added.

"Lady's escalated," Brian said. "Who's the co-signer?"

"Her brother," Jeff answered. "Put up his condo."

"We better get cracking on this," Brian stated firmly. "Jeff, get in touch with the brother and see what you can find out. We're getting on this one right after the assembly."

_That afternoon:_

The school auditorium was full of excited, chatty youngsters that gave out loud squeals as if they were at a pop concert when Brian and his crew were introduced. He gave a speech that seemed to inspired the young audience.

"Jeff, Paul and I battled drugs at one point in our lives," Brian continued. "Paul had a brother killed by a drunk driver when the brother was only nineteen. Britty came from a chaotic home life, which made her grow up very early. Jeff's mom died of brain cancer in 1986. Anne had more than her share of struggles with coming from an abusive background, and my own family scraped by on very little money. My mom taught us about the importance of hard work, and I am proud to say not only did all of us here overcome our obstacles in life, but also I'm taking care of my mom in return for all the wonderful work she had done raising me and my two younger siblings on her own."

"It's not just what you come from," Anne added, "but what you do with and learn from those experiences in life. It's not what you do as much as what you get done. There's a right path and a wrong path to go in each of your journeys."

"And may you all choose the right path," Jeff advised them. "Much as we love our business, it's my greatest hope that I don't have to see any of you at Rainbow Bonds or track you down as part of our bounty hunting."

A few kids were then invited on stage; each asking a child what they wanted to be. Each answered accordingly, one girl even piping up with "Bounty hunter!"

"Uh oh," Paul said. "I think we're going to have some competition in a few years." The response drew laughter.

"So kids," Brian asked, "what do you have to do to reach your goals in life?"

"Stay in school and make good grades," one boy replied.

"Excellent one," Brian smiled.

"Listen to my mom and dad," a girl answered.

"Another excellent answer."

"Don't do bad stuff or the bounty hunters will get you," another boy blurted.

"Also excellent!" Applause broke out in the auditorium.

Shortly afterward, a Q&A session followed before the assembly was over. Now it was time to go catch some bad guys–in this case, a bad _girl._

_Later that day:_

"Jay Woods just contacted me," Jeff said. "He said that Nicole had bolted to Texas for awhile, but recently got back into town. Her bail had been originally revoked for leaving the state without permission. He's pretty fed up with the girl and wants to help us find her."

"Nothing like disgruntled family members, significant others, adult children, or spouses," Brian nodded. "They make the most cooperative people."

"Last spotting was a cheap motel right off the interstate," Paul added. "Britt and I can head over there to talk to the manager."

"Go for it," Brian replied. "There's a quarter million on the line; we have to begin somewhere. What else do we have?"

"A former boyfriend," Anne responded, hanging up the phone. "Kent Murphy. He said Nicole was in touch with him last night to ask for a loan. He said he'd contact her this evening to arrange something."

"This could be the break we need," Jeff said.

"Okay, Paul, Britt, get over to the motel ASAP. Anne, did you get a number from this ex boyfriend?" Brian asked.

"I did," Anne nodded, "and lucky us, he was also quick enough to get a number off the Caller ID of the location Nicole called from. I ran it and it's a cell number."

"Good, keep on that."

"I'm going to stay in touch with Jay in case Nicole contacts him again," Jeff offered. "He's a good, upstanding guy with a solid career. He shouldn't have to lose the condo he worked hard to buy because his own sister was irresponsible by missing the court date and then fleeing the state."

"I have Kent covered," Anne added.

"We're going to the motel," Britty cut in, headed out the door with Paul.

"Then we're rolling," Brian said. "Nothing like a $250,000 challenge to get my blood flowing."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I just got notice of an anonymous tip," Jeff said to Brian. "Someone called Crime Stoppers saying they spotted Nicole. It was just on the news."

"Shit," Brian muttered. "If that came over the news, every bounty hunter in God's creation will be tracking down this chick. We need to boogie on this. Did you get a location?"

"Yeah, about a mile from here."

"Guys," Anne came over the radio. "Paul, Britt and I are in that general area. We have Britty on the lookout right now."

"Way to go, ladies!" Jeff cheered.

"Fuck you, Skittles," Paul sniffed.

"You too, Pablo," Jeff laughed.

"Hey, don't be so hard on him, Jeffro," Anne said. "He's the one that got us in this area in the first place. For once, getting lost was a _good _thing."

"Aww gee, thanks, Annie," Paul patted her shoulder.

"Call me Annie one more time, and you'll be lucky to get those fingers back," Anne said with a grin.

"Spot anything yet, Britt?" Paul asked.

"Nothing, but it doesn't mean I won't keep looking." She grabbed a pair of binoculars, looking out the window and windowsill.

"Uh, Britt? You know those things are around my neck, right?"

"Uhh huhh." She continued to scour the area.

"**BRITTY**. Breathing issues here," Paul reminded her.

"God, you are such a wuss," Britty said, taking the binoculars from around his neck. "And you have the stones to talk about _Brian _being such a woman sometimes."

Anne laughed at the exchange as they went along, before calling over the radio again. "Hey, where are you guys?"

"About two streets over from you," Brian radioed back.

"Anne, your purse is ringing," Paul pointed out.

Anne fished for the phone, flipping it open and taking the call for a few minutes. She remained silent for a moment, before saying "All right, do what you can to keep her there or at least in the area. We're on our way."

"What?" Britty asked, lowering the binoculars.

"One very cooperative brother," Anne responded and then radioed again. "Brian, Jeff, you boys better step on it. I just got a call from Nicole's brother. She's there right now and he just took the distributor cap off her car so she can't run."

"That is one smart brother," Jeff praised. "We should be there in about five minutes."

_¡"BAYA DE ESPINO de YEE! ¡Vayamos consiga nosotros una chica mala!" _Paul cried. "We're about to get our quarter mil bounty, baby!"

"Easy, Padre," Britty said. "We haven't gotten her yet."

"And there's the possibility Jeff and Bri may get there first," Anne reminded them. "But if we do, I promised Britt she could do the jump."

"Anne, I am liking how you think," Britty grinned.

"You're a fast learner, what can I say?" Anne grinned back at her.

"I'd rather see the short guy do it," Paul said with a cheesy smile. "Brian taking down chicks is kind of hot."

Britty smacked his arm. "You are such a pervert."

Anne was about to radio the other two men when Paul piped up. "And it's even hotter when Brian tries to take down Anne."

Her mouth hung open, about to speak, when Brian came over the radio. "Paul, you did not just go there."

"He just did," Anne replied.

Everyone began to laugh at Paul turned red, and then Anne spotted their vehicles. "Coming up on you right now, guys."

"All right, I just called Jay back and let him know our plan," Brian replied. "Once again, the rest of you, out of sight and surrounding the place. He's going to bring Nicole outside. In any case, let's just hope this is a peaceful surrender and we don't need to go to extreme measures."

"Extreme?" Jeff asked. "Dude, I'm all about extreme."

"Yeah, but for the sake of other people in this building, I'd like to avoid it," Brian answered.

"Guess you won't be doing any tackling this time," Anne said to Britty as they took their places.

_Ten minutes later:_

Nicole had surrendered peacefully, clearly tired of running. Contrary to what they had expected of a fugitive out on $250,000 bail, she had been low key and cooperated with Jeff when he and Brian had taken her into custody.

She'd been given a soda and a cigarette before they had arrived at the jail where Nicole would be booked. When they had arrived, chaos surrounded the front.

"Oh fucking hell," Brian groaned.

"What's going on?" Anne asked.

"News media camped out front," Brian replied. "Apparently someone tipped them off about the capture. We're taking Nicki to the back. I'm not turning this thing into a damn circus."

"Good idea, Bubba," Anne agreed. "We're right behind you."

When they reached the back of the jail, all were relieved there was no one in sight. As he always done many times before, Jeff accompanied his latest capture to the entrance announcing himself. "Jeff from Rainbow Bonds. I have Nicole Woods."

"No more running, Nicki," Brian told her. "Today is the day you think about starting to go straight."

She nodded, giving a slight smile. "Yes. I really should. Thank you for being decent to me."

A few minutes later, Jeff returned alone, Nicole now safe in the jail. The group of them broke out in a round of applause, clapping each other on the back for their work in the latest capture. It had been their biggest one yet.

"We better get back to the office and freshen up," Brian said. "I have a feeling it won't be long before the news hounds find us and come sniffing around."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Monday morning:_

"All right, we have a challenging one today," Jeff announced. "Charles Webb."

"What's the story?" Brian asked, ready to jot down the information.

"DOB 12-1-1964, five ten, 200 pounds. Bond is $30,000. There's a new warrant for him in addition to ours."

"Webb," Paul spoke up. "That's the dude who once said if he spotted any of us, he would run off."

"Yeah," Brian nodded. "Fucker ran off to Oregon with our money even after we told not to leave the state. One way or another we're going to nail him."

"I don't think anyone would outrun you, Paul," Jeff grinned at him.

"Not so fast, Rainbow," Brian spoke up.

"Brian," Anne replied. "You smoke four packs a day. Paul would leave you in the dust."

"We'll see about that. I've caught a lot of people too."

"Sounds like someone's up for a challenge."

"Race for the fastest bounty hunter," Jeff replied. "We can go on the back lot and get this underway. Paul will probably run you under the table, so I have twenty bucks on him."

"Twenty on the boss," Britty smiled, waving a bill. "You in, Anne?"

"Oh what the hell, twenty on Bri for shits and giggles."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Anne." Brian shook his head.

"All right, let's go see who beats whose ass in a foot race," Jeff said, getting up.

"First I have to change my shoes," Brian grinned. "Meet you out there."

_Ten minutes later:_

Paul and Brian lined up at the starting point, ready for the signal from Anne to go. Once "GO!" was shouted, both took off; from the beginning, to everyone's shock, Brian had the advantage all the way to the finish line.

"No fair!" Paul whined. "I didn't get a good start."

"Oh yeah, PL, nice one. 'Mr. Fugitive, could you stay still so I can do this again?' Not going to work, buddy," Brian answered before whooping up his victory. "But since I'm a nice guy, we can split the pot."

"Works for me. I can buy us lunch later."

"Now you're being a good sport," Brian grinned at him. "Let's all head back in and plan this guy's capture."

They all returned back to the office, looking over the paperwork before them.

"Okay," Paul said. "Charges are possession with intent to deliver, theft by deception, drug paraphernalia, breaking and entering, and forgery."

"Ahh, up and coming citizen of the year," Brian said. "All right, Webb is supposed to be back from Oregon later today, so we need to do some quick planning. I was thinking of incorporating Britty as a decoy at the airport."

"How?" Britty asked. "This guy might know me too."

"A makeover of sorts," Brian answered. "Anne can help you out."

_Several hours later:_

Donned in an auburn wig, baseball cap, and large sunglasses, Britty stepped in the next room.

"Bri," Anne teased. "It's your biggest fan from Oregon."

"What the…" he began before realizing who it was. "Hey, that's good!"

"I look like a dork," Britty said in protest.

"You'll blend in fine. Now remember to watch the gates for Webb, and then stay on his tail. We'll be right outside to back you up. Let's go, gang. We don't have much time left."

_At the airport:_

Britty sat in the terminal, flipping through a magazine and looking around, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. She kept everyone posted as to what was going on., though nothing was happening just yet.

After several minutes, Charles Webb appeared. "I see him!" Britty said.

"Stay on him, kiddo," Brian said.

"He's going toward baggage claim," Britty reported, following her target.

"Shit," Jeff replied. "that will be at least another ten minutes."

"Wait, wait!" Britty said excitedly. "He's bypassing baggage claim and headed toward the door!"

"Get him, shorty!" Paul called to Brian. "You still have those running shoes on."

"Let's go, boys!" Brian exclaimed. "There he is!"

Charles Webb stood no chance of running before the three men tackled him. Within a few minutes, their fugitive was cuffed and placed in their vehicle.

"Dude, not cool to run off with our money when we told you not to leave," Jeff barked.

"Did you honestly think you could slip back in here unnoticed?" Brian asked. "Pretty fucked up, brother. Now you're going to do ten years."

The rest of the ride to jail went without incident before Jeff took in Webb to have him booked. When Jeff returned, high fives went around.

"An especially good job shout goes to Britty," Jeff beamed.

"Amen to that," Paul nodded. "Fantastic ass work, Princesa."

"See?" Brian reassured her. "You're better at this than you think you are."

Anne hugged her. "It may not have been your famous tackling, but great job, girl!"

Paul then put on the wig and glasses Britty wore earlier for the capture as they headed back to the office. "Hey, do you all think I'd make a good ho for the next capture?"

"Oh, Padre," Britty giggled, "that look is so you."

The others laughed out loud as Jeff took a picture with his phone.

"Now," Brian announced. "Time to do our next capture."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Tuesday afternoon:_

They had been sitting around the office with every fan running, catching Brian on a talk show. The subject that day had been crime fighting and he had been a guest along with a TV judge, a victim's rights advocate, a TV crime show host, and a well-known district attorney.

Paul just came back in right as Brian appeared on the screen. "Anne, you need to quit feeding that cat in the alley, woman," he said.

"Why?" she asked. "He's not bothering anything and Brian certainly doesn't mind."

"And it's kind of cute," Jeff added.

"Black cats are supposed to be bad luck, aren't they?" Paul wondered.

"Apparently not this one," Anne smiled. "We've gotten two major captures in the last couple of days, didn't we? Now be quiet; the boss is on."

They watched the TV screen in silence for a few moments before Jeff commented, "Dude gets invited on any more shows, he'll get more fan mail than I do."

"Yeah, why him? Everyone knows I'm the handsome guy," Paul joked.

"But Brian runs faster," Britty joked back, not resisting to remind him of the foot race the day before.

"Very funny." Paul raised an eyebrow, shooting her a look.

"Hey cool, Brian mentioned Nicole's capture," Jeff spoke up. "And he plugged Rainbow Bonds."

"More business for us," Britty nodded happily. "Way to go, Brian."

"We should like get our own show," Paul said thoughtfully.

"Don't they already have a show about bounty hunting?" Anne asked.

"Yeah, but ours would be better," Paul replied. "Count on it."

Anne shook her head. "You and your goofy ideas, Paul."

The phone then rang not long after Brian had gone off the screen. Jeff caught it on the second ring. "Yeah, that's us," the others heard him say at one point. "What can I do for you?"

As he attended to the rest of the telephone call, which appeared to be a local reporter, the rest of the group heard scratching at the back door.

"Sounds like Anne's four-legged stalker has returned," Paul said.

"Poor baby," Anne replied, going to the refrigerator first before heading for the door. "He's probably hungry again. I better take some water too; it's pretty hot out there."

"Jeff and Brian put up with this shit again _why?" _Paul wondered as he watched Anne go outside, cooing to the grateful animal. "We're bounty hunters, not the Humane Society."

"The furball is good for cleaning up leftovers no one else wants," Britty answered. "That and it keeps Anne occupied when the boss isn't around. And she likes animals."

"Jesus; next thing you know, she'll be starting a sanctuary with down pillow beds and air conditioning for animals. By the way, when is the air conditioning guy supposed to be here? Even with the fans, it's still hot as hell in here."

Britty looked at the clock. "Should be showing up any time now. There's all day water out in the kitchen area if you want some."

"What the fuck is 'all day water'?"

"Anne freezes bottles of water the night before and then takes them out in the morning. The water stays cold all day."

"Hey, I may try some of that." He got up and went toward the kitchen just as the air conditioning repairman arrived. The discomfort wouldn't last much longer.

_The next day:_

Jeff had come in with what appeared to be an animal carrier, plopping it on Anne's desk as the newly-repaired air conditioner hummed in the background. Brian would be back that afternoon, and things were quiet until then.

"Well," Jeff told her as the cat inside howled to get free, "it's definitely a boy. He's healthy except for a few worms, but that's been taken care of, he's now up to date on shots and the vet clipped his toenails and checked his teeth. Oh, and he's about three years old."

"Let the poor thing out," Anne replied. "He's probably baking in there."

Jeff complied, opening the small door, resulting in a black streak darting out and investigating its new surroundings.

"He could be our mascot," Jeff grinned. "Now we need to give him a good name."

Anne nodded. "Something to do with the business….Something like….Surety."

"Hey, I like that." Jeff picked up the cat. "Okay," he said to it, "you are now Surety and this is your new home. No more hanging in the alley begging leftovers and Dumpster diving for you, buddy."

"I can go get food and a cat box over lunch," Anne offered.

"Way ahead of you," Jeff smiled, putting down Surety, who scampered off into the next room. "I have everything set up in the back."

"Wow, you think of everything. Way to go, Skittles," she praised.

Just then, they heard an ungodly howl come from the next room. **"AHHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF OF ME! AHHHHHHHH! IT'S DIGGING IN ME!"**

Anne sighed. "And Paul says _Brian's _a drama queen. Good lord."

They had gone into the room, both of them breaking out laughing at the sight of Surety climbing up Paul's pants leg.

"Anne, call off your beast!" Paul cried.

"I see you've met Surety," Jeff said, still laughing.

"Yeah, now get this fur freak away from me." Paul glared. "It sheds more than Brian does."

"Kind of funny this is a guy that takes down fugitives bigger than he is but screams bloody murder over a _seven-pound cat." _Anne shook her head, still chuckling.

"Most of those fugitives don't have needle sharp claws that dig in when they climb up my leg," Paul replied in protest. "Does the boss know you're going to be housing this thing here?"

"Who do you think told me to catch Surety and take him to the vet?"

"Oh God." Paul let out a low groan.

"Come on, he'll be a good companion for Bri since he lost Chester not long ago."

By now, Surety had discovered the new cat bed strategically placed near Brian's desk and curled up in it.

"Our lives should be so easy," Paul shook his head. "Eat, sleep, shit and torture everyone and everything around you."

"Kind of sounds like you, dude," Jeff laughed. "I think you and Surety may have something in common already."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Wednesday:_

"Off my desk, fur bag, or you'll be Chinese food for my lunch," Paul ordered, shooing Surety off his desk.

The cat gave a low growl, sauntering over toward Brian.

"If you lay one finger on that animal, I'll resort to cannibalism and _you'll _be _my_ lunch," Anne replied, shooting Paul a dirty look

Surety jumped up on a stack of files on Brian's desk. Brian grinned, scratching Surety's ears. "Well hello there," he said. "Nice of you to stop by for a visit."

"I think someone likes you, dude," Jeff said, looking up from his own work.

"Yeah," Paul added. "Brian has food."

"Brian also taught Surety to walk on a leash," Britty said proudly. "Hey, do you think we could take him along sometime?"

"Depends on the capture, kiddo," Brian nodded. "And I did the leash thing so we wouldn't have to worry about doing battle to put him in a cat carrier. Surety can ride shotgun of sorts instead."

"Show them what else you got him, Bri," Anne smiled.

"Oh yeah." Brian reached into a desk drawer before scratching Surety's ears again. "I almost forgot I had something for you, my furry friend. I had it specially made."

"Isn't that cute!" Britty cried as Brian put a mini badge around Surety's collar.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Paul asked. "You got a badge made for a _cat? _I could see if it was a _drug sniffing dog_, but have you lost your mind?"

"He's part of the team," Brian answered. "Only right Surety gets his own badge."

"And evidently you didn't see the mole he nailed last night," Jeff spoke up. "I haven't seen any mice out back since Surety's been here either. He's a good hunter on his own."

"I think someone loves his new bling, Papa," Anne chuckled as Surety jumped down and rubbed Brian's legs.

"I think so, too," Brian replied. "Either that or he knows there's cat treats in that drawer too."

"I pick the latter," Paul interjected. "That thing is like a vacuum cleaner with teeth and a tail."

"Right," Jeff nodded. "Anything that falls on the floor is the cat's. Saves on cleaning up and he gets a treat. Everyone wins."

"Leave it to you to take the lazy way out of cleaning up anything, Jeff," Paul laughed.

"Well? Surety earns his keep and eats at the same time. Nothing wrong with that."

"All right," Brian said, "now that the fun part of the morning is done, time for business. Who do we have today?"

"John Shipman," Paul answered. "Ten thousand dollars. B&E, ADW, marijuana possession, two counts of domestic violence."

"Woman beater," Brian turned up his nose. "We definitely need to nail this guy."

"What's worse is the ex-girlfriend is the co-signer," Anne replied. "No matter how we stress them not to do this stuff, they do anyway."

"We can only advise them," Jeff nodded. "What they do in the end is their call. Paul, do you have any contact info on the co-signer?"

"Yeah." Paul rattled off a phone number, which Jeff dialed. "Let me handle this," Jeff added. "I know Holly pretty well."

As Jeff tended to his phone call, Surety spread out on the sill of the large front window, catching the sun.

"Just what I'd like to be doing on a day like this," Britty said, nodding toward the cat before taking a copy of the Shipman mug shot and studying it.

"I think we all would," Anne agreed, "but catching fugitives comes first in priority."

Jeff got off the phone. "Okay," he spoke up. "Holly doesn't know where Shipman is presently, but she's been in contact with him and the minute she _does_ know where he is, we are to expect a phone call from her pronto."

"Ahh, nothing like scorned women to help us trap the bad guys," Paul nodded, grinning.

"Lesson to learn," Anne chimed in, "don't commit crimes and then piss off your girlfriends. Anyway, can't he be traced through his cell phone records?"

"I asked Holly about that," Jeff answered. "No dice. It's a prepaid cell, but we can get a general idea of his last location off those."

"Better than nothing," Brian said. "Let's get to work on that. It will give us a start."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Okay, this is the general area where Shipman last used his phone," Brian said, pointing out cell towers on a map. "I'm figuring we can each grab a mug shot, spread out, and start asking around there."

"Works for me," Paul nodded, still working on his lunch and picking up one of the WANTED sheets of John Shipman as Surety jumped up on the map.

"Not this time, fuzzy buddy," Brian said, putting the cat gently on the floor. "We need someone to stay behind and watch the office."

Surety cocked his head before wandering over to the front window as the group went back to work.

"Any other known places Shipman hangs out?" Britty asked.

"According to Holly, there's a pool hall right here," Jeff replied, pointing to another spot on the map. "That is about in the same area where the calls were being made on the prepaid phone."

"We can check there too," Brian nodded, jotting down notes. "Did Holly give you an address?"

"That and a few other addresses, in fact," Jeff said, relaying them to Brian.

"Great. Better to have too much information than not enough. Let's get this party started."

As they were getting ready to leave, the group could hear giggles coming from outside.

Turning around, Anne placed a hand over her own mouth to restrain herself from bursting out laughing as she spotted Surety's hind leg in the air, licking his butt with abandon, oblivious to the children outside pointing at him and giggling.

"Well, that hairball certainly takes after Brian in one respect," Paul said, shaking his head. "Cat has no shame at all."

Anne patted his shoulder. "Face it, Paul," she teased, "you're just jealous because you can't do a trick like that. Come on, let's go."

_Later:_

"Anything from the pool hall?" Anne asked.

Brian shook his head. "No one's seen Shipman since the day before yesterday," he replied. "And I will add I don't think I'll be going back in there again. I think some of those guys were ready to ass rape me. I'd sent Jeff, but he would have stood out like a sore thumb, Paul probably _would _have gotten ass raped, and no one could pay me enough to send you or Britt in that hell hole. Jesus."

Anne playfully pinched his cheek. "How cute of you to want to protect us ladies. Of course, Britt would have kicked someone in the balls if they'd much as looked at her the wrong way."

"Damn right," Britty nodded.

"Midget," Paul came over the radio. "Skittles and I may have gotten something."

"Spill it, buddy," Brian replied.

"There's a biker bar about a mile from he and I are where someone spied Shipman about twenty minutes ago," Paul said.

"Biker bar? Jesus Christ, you two aren't going in there….." Brian began.

Paul cut him off. "Jeff sent his brother."

"He sent Matt in there to get himself killed? Paul, are you all fucking _nuts?"_

"Matt's handled bigger dudes than that, Midget," Paul answered. "Relax, they don't call him The Black Cloud for nothing. As a matter of fact, he's coming back out as we speak without a mark on him."

Brian let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Christ. Just let me know what you all find out."

He then put the radio mic back in its holder. "I swear sometimes that I'm not going to hell but I'm already there."

"What was that about?" Britty asked as Anne's phone rang and she took the call.

"Our fugitive was spotted in a biker bar earlier," Brian answered. "We should be getting details about where Shipman should be headed shortly."

"Don't bother," Anne said, putting away the phone. "That was Holly. Shipman contacted her to ask if she wanted to 'party.' Apparently he'd scored some crack at that bar."

Brian was interested in this new information. "Did she say where?"

Anne nodded. "The riverbank about two miles from where we are right now."

"Holy shit, talk about sheer luck. Let's go. Maybe we can cut this guy off at the pass."

Brian then radioed Paul and Jeff, passing along the information. "I'm going to need you two on the other side in case Shipman gets any ideas to run. Don't do anything stupid or move too soon, especially since Holly is going to be with him."

"Got it, man," Jeff replied. "Let's get a nice, clean capture."

_Several minutes later:_

Their target had been exactly where they had expected him, and the capture had gone off without incident; Shipman really had nowhere to go. He had glared at Holly for a few moments, already figuring out she'd been behind the whole thing.

"You know, man, someday you'll thank both her and us for this," Brian pointed out. "Today you have nowhere else to go but up."

As soon as Shipman had been taken to jail, they headed back to the office, this time finding their mascot up to his latest mischief.

Surety was now on Paul's desk, cleaning up the long-neglected remains of Paul's lunch that had been there. Somehow, the cat had gotten the container open and discovered the yummy contents inside.

"Aw, man!" Paul cried, shooing Surety off as Brian doubled over in laughter. "Crazy animal. What is it with you and my desk anyway? Go hang out with Brian and eat _his_ food."

"Oh come on, Paul," Anne teased, "I'm confident Surety won't mind sharing his ocean fish and tuna in gravy that's in the fridge to make up for raiding your lunch."

"Very funny," Paul shook his head, flipping through the phone book for a take out restaurant. "I'm not eating cat food and I'm sure as hell not finishing that stuff there after the fur bag had been in it after licking his own ass."

Jeff inspected the container. "Doesn't look like Surety left anything for you anyway, dude."

"Fucking pig," Paul grunted before placing a new order, glaring down at Surety, who stared back at Paul, licking his chops.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_Thursday morning:_

"Stephanie Gold and Angie Wheeler," Brian announced, writing on the dry erase board. "A couple of very outstanding women here, to say the least."

"Both have a $22,000 bond," Jeff informed him. "Gold is possession with intent to deliver and Wheeler is auto theft. Both also failed to appear for sentencing."

"So two warrants out on each," Brian said. "We have ages on these two?"

"Both are twenty seven," Jeff replied.

"Any priors?"

"Juvenile record on Stephanie, which is sealed," Paul said. "Angie has a prior shoplifting charge."

"There's also the boyfriend of Stephanie's," Anne added. "Trey Morton. He has a bail revocation by his mother. Apparently not only is he back on drugs, but she also found some things in his room that looked like things that could be used to make explosives and drugs."

"We definitely need to find him," Brian answered. "What's the stats on him?"

"Age thirty, six feet, two twenty, green eyes, brown hair. Tattoos on both arms."

"Mom says he could be down near the projects dealing. If that's the case, the girls could be with him, especially Stephanie."

"If only that is the case, we could do three captures at once," Brian said.. "In any case, we're going to need all of our resources for this. Let's stay in touch with Trey's mom and get some additional information from her. We already have a general idea where the girls hang out being they have few contacts and practically no resources of their own."

"Let's do this," Jeff nodded, getting up. "The sooner we get started, the better our chances of catching them are."

_About an hour later:_

Going near the projects was always risky; even dressed down and making themselves appear more low key than usual, the group knew they could still stand out, so it was important to stay in an area where they couldn't be spotted.

As expected, the girls were with Trey Morton, right in the area where his mother had informed Anne where he would be.

She placed a call to Tina Morton, letting her know Trey had been found. "We're working on capturing him right now. Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Yes," Tina answered. "He needs help and I can't think of any other way."

"All right. We're bringing him in soon."

It was the last thing anyone remembered hearing before a few loud pops rang out.

_The following morning:_

"Brian got a fucking concussion while he was nearly killed yesterday and _still_ wanted to come in today?" Jeff asked Anne incredulously as they walked from the parking lot toward the office.

"Look who's talking," Anne laughed. "You look like you can barely walk and are black and blue in places and here you are, Rainbow."

"Yeah, but at least I'm alive. Actually, it's good that you and Britty weren't hurt and Paul only took a bullet to the arm. We're all alive and going to heal up eventually. I would have liked to have brought Trey Morton in alive, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case."

"The girls are in custody, though," Anne said softly.

"Yeah," Jeff nodded before they went silent for a moment.

When they came in the office, both were shocked not only to see Paul there at his desk, his injured arm in a bright white cast and Surety curled up on it, but also Matt.

"What are you doing here?" Jeff asked his brother.

"Since Brian is confined at home, he called and said you all may need someone to help out for a bit," Matt said. "I'm here to pitch in temporarily, especially since Paul only has one arm and Brian has scrambled eggs for brains."

"I'm only going to be good for glorfied secretary and human cat bed for awhile," Paul said, nodding toward a sleeping Surety.

"I thought you hated that animal," Jeff said.

"I thought I did too, but looking at him today, Surety is kind of cute," Paul smiled.

Britty had come in just then, cheerfully announcing herself before spotting Paul. "Padre, why are you here? You can't do bounty hunting with one arm any more than Brian can with a concussion. Go home."

Paul blew her a raspberry. "Brian didn't die and make you queen. Besides, Surety likes my cast; it makes him a great bed instead of that half ass thing on the floor." He scratched Surety's ears with his good hand. "Doesn't it, furry boy?"

Surety purred his approval, curling up even more.

"Hey," Jeff spoke up. "That 'half ass thing on the floor' cost me forty bucks."

"Sucks to be you," Paul responded with a grin, tackling some paperwork.

"And since when are you friends with the cat?" Britty quirked an eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't stand Surety."

"Since he likes Mexican food," Paul laughed. "By the way, Anne, how did you get the boss to stay home today?"

"I didn't," Anne replied. "His doctor did. I have no idea what the man said, but whatever it was, it apparently worked."

"At least _someone _got into his thick skull," Matt said.

"Don't get too confident," Anne warned them. "He'll be calling in later. In the meanwhile, we're going to have to work with some limited manpower, but as we all know, a bounty hunter's work is never done."

Britty nodded in agreement. "You got that right, sister!"


	10. Chapter 10 CONCLUSION

**Chapter 10 - CONCLUSION**

Jeff and Rainbow Bonds–along with Brian and the rest of his bounty crew–had been featured on a major crime show for their 1,000th bounty capture the previous week. All had long since healed from the Trey Morton fiasco several weeks before and it had been long forgotten.

Even after tonight's show was over and then after a brief speaking engagement in the morning for Brian, it would be back to business as usual capturing the bad guys.

When they came to the office the day following their return home, they had gotten the surprise of their lives. Surety was there, but he wasn't alone.

Along with a multicolored cat had been six kittens, four of them as black as Surety, the other two marked like the mother cat.

"Oh Jesus," Brian groaned. "Surety, buddy, what did you do?"

Both adult cats looked at him as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Paul, I thought you took Surety to the vet to be neutered awhile back," Jeff said.

"I was going to," Paul replied. "But I just didn't have the heart to go through with it."

"Not exactly the best time to be a softy, Paul."

"Fine, see how you like getting stuffed in a carrier and then having some dude cut your balls off."

"Surety," Britty looked down at him. "You bad kitty."

"Nah, Britt," Brian shook his head. "They were just following what came naturally."

"Well now we go from one cat to eight," Anne pointed out. "Thing is, the kittens will be too young to be separated from Mama here for awhile. Once they are old enough, they're going to have to go to other homes. Now what we do with Mama then is another matter."

"I don't know," Brian grinned. "I think Surety and Mama cat rather like each other. I think I'd like to keep her around."

"Yeah they like each other all right," Britty said. "There's six more fur balls to prove that."

"And there won't be any more after this," Brian said firmly. "She and Surety will both be getting fixed and I'll see to that personally. Now to give Mama a name."

"While we're thinking on that, how about we work on capture one thousand and one?" Jeff suggested.

Brian nodded. "Works for me. What do we have?"

"Anthony Evans. Guy has a long list of auto theft priors and a couple of failures to appear."

"That's it!" Anne spoke up. "That could work for Mama cat's name."

Brian looked at her. "Huh?"

"Forfeiture," Anne smiled.

"Forfeiture and Surety," Paul nodded. "Sounds like a happy couple to me."

"Yeah, and as usual, look who's caring for the babies while the other sleeps in the window," Britty said, gesturing toward where the kittens nursed on Forfeiture while Surety slept on his usual spot on the windowsill. "Typical male."

"Hey, we resent that," Paul replied, "besides, boy cats can't nurse."

"Besides, Surety's probably tired from capturing his new family and bringing them to a safe place," Brian added. "Just like we need to go out and get our next capture right now. Everyone ready?"

"Anytime you are, boss," Jeff nodded.

Just another day at the office of Rainbow Bonds and for Brian the Bounty Hunter.


End file.
